Shadows of a Past Long Forgotten

Chapter Sixteen

All characters that have been seen before in any Star Wars movie or written work are property of Lucasfilm, Ltd. All characters that have never been seen in any Star Wars movie or work are property of the author. Do not repost anywhere without the permission of the author!

Imperial Palace Spaceport, Coruscant

She was short, she was round, and she blocked Armand Naberrie’s entrance to the Mayan Hotel. Armand watched her fumble with her suitcases for all of a minute before stepping up to help her. "Madame?"

She turned, revealing a face painted heavily with makeup; he was certain her slim light brown eyebrows were painted on anyway. Her dark red lips opened, unmasking the rancor-sized mouth. "Yes?"

Armand swallowed his pride and gestured to her huge suitcases. "Do you need some help?"

She dropped her suitcases and placed her plump hand across her ample bosom. "Oh! Aren’t you a dear!" She smiled broadly at him. "There just aren’t enough gentlemen around these days, especially in huge cities like this! I was just telling my husband this the other day, I says: Honey, whatever happened to good old-fashioned manners? He didn’t answer, he’s been dead five years now, Gods rest him...what is your name, sweet boy?"

"Armand Naberr," he replied, hefting her suitcases. "And you, Madame?" he asked, his head swimming from the effect of her words and mannerisms.

"Carlotta Quakenbush my dear." The gold lined doors were opened by the doormen, and Armand followed her into the spacious lobby. "Where are you from, dearie? You sound like you’re from New Naboo, like me."

"Yes, I am from Naboo," Armand replied evasively. He was about to ask what she was doing on Coruscant, but Carlotta continued to rumble on.

"I knew you were!" She clapped hands as if to congratulate herself. "Tell me. What do you think of the Baron Lairde Batista?" Before Armand could open his mouth to respond, Carlotta answered for him. "The man is a tyrant. He offers to house refugees, but then hoards the money and supplies, offering them meager allowances that a nerf couldn’t live off of. He crowds his own people and offers no compensation- not that we expect him to, of course. We’ve barely seen the money or supplies the New Republic sends him for us, and he dares tax our wages!"

Armand stared at her, horrified as her words sank in. "What does..."

"The New Republic do about it?" Carlotta finished for him. "Nothing." She shrugged her shoulders. "They don’t know. How could they? No one has the money to go out and inform them, and they’ve been too busy with the Vong Wars to pay much attention to us, not that they ever thought they needed to; they’ve had no complaints. So about two weeks ago I think to myself: ‘Carlotta, no one’s going to tell the Republic nothing if you don’t.’ So I packed my bags, mortgaged my house to pay for it and came to Coruscant where the bigwigs are."

"Mortgaged your house?" Armand questioned her as she checked into the hotel. "Couldn’t you have found cheaper transport or lodging?"

Carlotta shook her head. "No way honey, I figured if I was going to go broke, I was going to do it in style."

Armand’s head was spinning as a droid came to carry her luggage to her room. As a Prince of the world for which their colony was named, he had a responsibility toward these poor people. He had to do something to help. "Who do you plan on contacting, Mrs. Quakenbush? Perhaps I can help you..."

"Oh, you are a dear," Carlotta broke in, delighted. "I was planning to make an appointment with the High Council or maybe the Senate first." They stopped in front of room number 203. "Whichever one has the first opening, or will even let me in the doors!" She laughed at herself. "I will let you know, sweetie. For now I could use a nice long nap and maybe a little lunch. Thank you so much for your help, Armand." She threw her arms around him in a big hug and stood on her tip toes to plaster his cheek with a sloppy kiss. "Goodbye."

"Good day," Armand said, stunned as the door closed behind her flowing floral dress. He’d never met anyone so bold as to hug and kiss him like that, who wasn’t family anyway. But then Carlotta was no ordinary woman, and he wasn’t reigning Royalty on Coruscant. Absentmindedly, he rubbed at the red lipstick stain he knew would be on his left cheek.

"Armand!" Dor’s voice broke into the silence following Carlotta’s departure. "Armand!"

"What?" Armand spun on his heel to face his former Governor. "What’s wrong, Dor?"

"We’re running out of time sir," Dor said, visibly fighting the urge to grab a hold of Armand’s tunic. "It’s tomorrow night and we’ve had no time to plan."

"What’s tomorrow night?" Armand asked, grasping Dor’s arm. "What do we need to plan for?"

"The State Dinner. Every important person of the New Republic will be there, including the Jedi - it’s in honor of them. Mr. Lunceford has already purchased a ticket for you. You’ll be his guest. You can’t dress as a prince, but you certainly can’t look grungy."

"Wait," Armand interrupted him. "You’re worrying yourself into a panic over what I’m going to wear to this dinner tomorrow?"

Dor bobbed his head. "Yes. How are we going to find a suitable tailor on this short of notice?"

"Tailor?" Armand asked him, his tone incredulous. “I am a spaceport mechanic; I can barely afford a suit from Bernie’s Affordable Formal Wear." A sly smile formed on his lips. "In fact, that is where you will go to find me one. You know my size."

"But Sir!" Dor cried, horrified with Armand’s choice of clothing shops.

"If I wish to remain anonymous, I must look the part," Armand reminded him. "And I have no time to go shopping with you. I must get in contact with my father." He headed towards his suite, happy to have an excuse to miss out on shopping with Dor. He’d never actually had to go before, but it sounded boring, and the sooner he got a message to his father, the better. As far as he knew, nowhere on Naboo had holonet capabilities, so he’d have to send a holorecording or a letter through his father’s informants about the situation on New Naboo, and Amidala’s children.

He learned about Luke and Leia before even coming to Coruscant, courtesy of his cousin, Julya Daris, and the first visitor Naboo had had in forty years, Anakin Solo. Having been informed of a conspiracy to assassinate the Royal Family, Julie dragged Anakin to the palace with her to try to stop it. While the guards probably could have handled the would-be-assassin, Anakin ended up taking a shot meant for Armand, consequently saving his life. Anakin would have died while waiting for the Medics if Julie hadn’t subconsciously tapped the Force, sealing the wound before he bled to death.

When the medics finally arrived, Julie told him the story of how Anakin had crash-landed near the Daris Estate and had been taken in by her family, fully aware of the trouble housing an offworlder could get them in. After discovering Anakin was a Jedi and considering his name, Julya had figured out his relation to the former Queen Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. He was the son of Leia, one of Amidala’s twins. For years, members of the Naberrie family had tried to find Amidala’s children, but had to stop when the danger grew too great.

Armand had no intention of mentioning Anakin’s stay on Naboo to his father; he didn’t want to get the Daris family in any trouble. He just planned to say that he had found Amidala’s children on Coruscant, and would explain later.

***

Trillium...that name rang in Lainey’s mind throughout the rest of Master Rhysode’s class, adding to the frustration of her inability to touch the Force. Master Horn had decided it was a sub-conscious block that she’d have to learn to climb over -since she had once before yesterday. It didn’t help that Jariath learned remarkably well and his pebbles were practically tangoing while Lainey’s remained motionless wallflowers.

Of course, the higher her frustration grew, the farther the Force crept away from her until she could barely even sense it. Lainey sighed as the class was dismissed and offered a small smile when Jariath patted her on the back saying she’d get it next time.

She found herself seated near Miranda, Jariath, and Nic on the gym floor for Lightsaber Combat. There were no teachers in the room yet, unless Anakin Solo counted as one, though he didn’t try to silence the chattering class. He himself was in a conversation with Julya Daris.

Miranda leaned over Lainey to introduce herself to Nicholai Previn and Jariath. First, she shook hands with Nic, then extended her hand to Jariath, "Miranda Sierr."

"Jariath Lunceford," Jariath introduced himself, squeezing her hand. "I’ve heard a lot about you."

Miranda cocked her head. "All good, I trust?"

Jariath grinned. "Of course."

"I can’t believe we’re actually going to learn how to fight with lightsabers," Nic said, almost wistfully.

"I know," Jariath sighed. "I can’t wait." His blue eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"Why’s that?" Miranda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I am going to excel at it," Jariath replied confidently.

Miranda’s lip quirked. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Because I am good with my hands," he said suggestively, giving her a cocky wink.

Lainey shook her head, a retort begging to escape her lips. Miranda, recognizing the funny expression on Lainey’s face grinned broadly. "All right, out with it Lainey."

Lainey flushed. "No..."

Nic nodded. "Yeah, let’s hear it." He encouraged with a warm smile.

Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders. "I was just going to say that all the fancy hand work in the galaxy will do nothing for you if you have clumsy feet."

Nic snickered. "She’s right you know. Footwork is just as or nearly as important as handwork. Can you dance, Jariath?"

"Yep." Jariath stretched his arms. "I can do anything."

Miranda rolled her eyes. "I wish I had your confidence. I’ve never fenced in my life, and I’m not much of a dancer. I don’t think I’ll do well. How about you, Lainey?"

"Okay, I think," Lainey replied with a shrug. "Who knows?"

"If you don’t do well, I’m sure Master Horn will fix that in a hurry. Doesn’t he teach this class?"

"Yeah," Lainey said, just as Corran Horn entered the training room carrying a gray cargo-box.

"Master Solusar is going to be on vacation for the next two weeks," Corran informed the class after welcoming them to beginning Lightsaber Combat Skills and setting his box down. "So I have chosen Anakin Solo to serve as my assistant until he comes back." He gestured to Anakin who stood so the class could see who he was. Corran clasped his hands behind his back. "In this class, you will learn basic sparring skills with and without a lightsaber. I like to teach hand to hand combat also, because it is a skill you will most likely use in the near future. I don’t expect many if any of you to ever be involved in an actual life or death duel with lightsabers.

"However, lightsaber combat requires stern discipline and helps build a strong relationship with the Force. It is a very important part in your training." He reached into the cargo box and pulled out a training saber. "You’ll work with training sabers until you are skilled enough to not hurt or maim your partner... or yourself." He nodded to his assistant. "Anakin and I will teach you a few basic blocks today, and at the end of the class you will be paired up and participate in your first duel." He smiled. "Any questions?"

***

Corran Horn took the class through basic high and low guards of the outer circle, running through each block at least three times. Just as they were being shown the final block, a beautiful, no, gorgeous dark haired girl swept into the room. "Master Horn," she greeted Corran, executing a perfect respectable bow.

Lainey marveled at how she could wear the Temple issued light blue tunic like satin, and fill it out better than any other girl in the room. Lainey glanced at Miranda, whose lips had visibly tightened with the newcomer’s entrance. A slight glint darkened Miranda’s normally bright blue green eyes, causing a slight smirk to form on Lainey’s lips. Miranda was jealous. Even though Miranda was a very cute, attractive blonde, she’d never be the dramatic beauty this girl was.

"Ah, Nadia." Corran nodded to the girl with a smile. He turned to the class. "This is Nadia Montaigne, she’s here to perform a demo duel with Anakin, so you can all see what a trained Jedi can do with a lightsaber." He focused his green eyes on Jariath. "You are all welcome to try to mimic anything they do, but you only have yourself to blame if you fall on your face." Throwing Anakin a good natured wink, he then gestured to the duelists. "You may begin." He stepped away from the center of the room, standing to the side of the class, arms crossed over his chest.

Anakin and Nadia stepped onto the floor, on opposite sides of a dividing white line, both brandishing practice sabers. At Corran’s signal, the two bowed formally to each other, and with a short lunge from Nadia, the battle was engaged.

Anakin blocked her lunge late, slowing the fast tempo Nadia set. The blades disengaged and the opponents circled each other holding eye contact. Anakin stepped towards her, thrusting with his blade the instant his right foot hit the floor.

Anakin wasn’t cornered for long. He beat back her blows with continued heavy force, using his bigger size and trained agility to his advantage. He turned the tide of the battle back to his favor, forcing Nadia back into the defensive. While she maintained a strong counterattack, Anakin was the obvious superior combatant. As she tired Nadia recognized this... but wouldn’t accept it. Sensing Anakin’s near victorious feeling as their sabers crashed against each other and neither opponent relenting enough to move their saber back and leave themselves open, Nadia tossed her dark hair with a flick of her head and gave Anakin a seductive wink.

Anakin blinked and stumbled back in shock, opening himself to Nadia’s thrusting saber. She touched it to his heart, then lifted her chin in the air and glanced at Corran. "Kill point."

The class burst out in applause while Corran tried to contain his laughter. "Nice tactic, Nadia." He turned to the class and said in a very serious tone, "But I wouldn’t suggest it unless you’re dating your opponent’s brother." He grinned at his own mock admonition and clapped his hands together. "Now you guys are up, let’s see..." He pursed his lips as he surveyed the students. "Julya?" The petite brunette nodded. "I want you with Nic. Miranda, you’re with Jariath..."

Nadia offered Anakin a regal smile and a handshake, and he returned them both. "You should have won," she allowed.

Anakin shook his head. "No, you won fairly. I should have anticipated what you were doing."

Nadia laughed along with the students around them, who were standing to be paired off. "Call it even?"

"I'll take a raincheck for a rematch."

"Deal."

"Real weapons?"

"My pleasure."

Nadia turned around, practice saber still in hand, and took off her thin jacket, revealing a sleeveless black top. In the doorway was Jacen, a smirk on his face. She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "You just missed it, Jacen."

"With my eyes, yes," he replied, catching her hand and bringing it to his lips. "But not through the Force."

"Ah, that silly telepathy thing again," she joked.

"Yes, my dear. Nice tactic, by the way, but don't even think about trying it on me," he replied with a wink.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She gave him an innocent smile before kissing him full on the lips. "Care to stick around to watch the class? I gave your cousin a few pointers, and I'd like to see how she does."

"Sure," he replied, putting his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder as she turned around. "Though I'd prefer to watch you."

"There's nothing spectacular about the way I fight. Now, watching you, on the other hand, is a little like watching a good action holodrama."

"That may be the case, but watching you is like watching a dance." He gently kissed the base of her neck.

"Honestly, Jacen," she replied, feeling herself blush. "I'm all hot and sweaty. Surely you don't want to do that."

He ignored her. "Tell me about the students."

"Well," she began, relaxing against Jacen. "There’s Julie, who should probably be pretty good, if she remembers what I've taught her. I'm surprised that Master Horn paired her with Nic, since he's so much bigger, but she'll have the advantage of agility there."

She glanced around, stopping at Miranda and Jariath. "That pair makes me glad that you can't cause much damage with these practice sabers beyond bruises. Jariath seems like he'll be pretty good at it. From what I've seen he's a quick learner. But Miranda... She's just so... flirtatious."

"You mean she'd try what you did?"

"It wouldn't surprise me," Nadia replied with a smile. "The other students I haven't watched as much, and I don't know them well enough to say much."

"What about Corran's apprentice?"

Nadia looked about, finding Lainey with her Master, discussing something. "I don't know... There's something strange about her, like she's learned this all before, and she's just trying to remember it."

"You may be on to something there, Nadia," Jacen replied, holding her a little tighter.

She shook her head. "No," she answered. "It's probably nothing."

"Don't discredit yourself so quickly," he rebuked gently. "You are strong in the Force yourself. You know that."

"But my strength lies with what the Force can touch physically. I can fight. I can't see the future or the past."

She could sense Jacen's smile. "The Force has a way of deciding what you can and cannot do, Nadia," he replied. "But for now, let's watch."

***

Corran Horn finished pairing up the entire class, leaving Lainey partner-less. She was wondering if he did it on purpose to give her a break or something, when he gave her a warm smile. "Since there is an odd number, I want Lainey with me."

Miranda nudged Lainey. "Good luck," she whispered rising to her feet and turning to face Jariath.

Jariath grinned at her. "Don’t worry Miranda, I’ll go easy on you."

Lainey rolled her eyes as she made her way to Corran, stopping a few feet away from him. "Master," she greeted him, then cocked her head. "You didn’t choose me because you don’t think I’d fare well against the other students, did you?" she asked, slightly worried that he’d heard about her foul up in telekinesis, and that he would doubt her.

Corran shook his head in a firm no. "Quite the contrary actually," he assured her. "I want to see what my padawan can do."

Lainey grinned, partly because he had taken to the title "padawan" over mere apprentice, and that he hadn’t singled her out to save her the embarrassment of fouling up lightsaber combat as well. "Good," she said, raising her practice saber. "Because I’d like to see what my Master can do as well."

Corran smirked. "You’re on."

"So, Master," Lainey said, bowing respectfully to him while he did the same. "Why did you pair the girls off with the boys?"

"I wanted to see how many of the girls would pull Nadia’s trick," he responded, his green eyes twinkling.

"Master," Lainey groaned, not buying it.

"I’m pulling everyone out of their comfort zone," Corran replied. "What better way to do it then pair them off with a member of the opposite sex?"

Lainey grinned. "True enough," she said, assuming fighter stance. She’d been assessing her Master as she spoke to him, seeking the best way to beat him. He was not only bigger and stronger than she, he also undoubtedly had more experience. The best way to fight him would have to include the element of surprise. She smirked remembering Nadia’s tactical skills, subconsciously raising mental shields to conceal her plans from Master Horn. She kept her eyes locked with Corran’s as she raised her practice saber to deliver the first blow of the match. She put all her muscle into the blow, starting the duel off in full force.

Corran blocked her lunge, counterattacking with a blow to her lower left. Lainey parried his blade back again using full force, following the same pattern even as the tempo sped up. While he seemed glad that she could keep up with him, he was vaguely disappointed that she chose to use all her strength in the start of the match. A small smile threatened to form on her lips as Corran put his muscle into a simple beat attack, aiming for her waistline. Lainey swept her saber up gracefully to meet his, offering only the slightest resistance. Corran stumbled a bit on his forced overthrow, clumsily blocking her quick jab to his side. While her little trick didn’t fool him into leaving himself open for long, it brought a proud smile to his lips that was worth far more than the point she sought. "Nice strategy, Lainey," he praised her, then gave her a sly wink. "Almost left me open."

Lainey just grinned, deciding she’d have to play it fancier, or use Nadia’s slash-and-hop back technique. Two seconds before Corran continued the battle, she was warned of his lunge, just barely raising her saber to block his in time. Distantly, she realized the Force had whispered the warning to her, and that it had been flowing through her since the start of duel, allowing her to sense her Master’s feelings and moves more quickly. Her grin grew wider as realization set in. This was going better than she had originally thought.

Julya Daris was using two hands to hold her saber while sparring with Nic, using Nadia’s tips to easily hold him back. It helped that he was going easy on her at first, but upon recognizing her rough sparring skills, he strengthened his attack. Julie was still the better fighter, (which wasn’t saying much since they were both beginners...) but Nic was also pretty good. She couldn’t be sure of the outcome of the duel until Nic was suddenly distracted, muttering "wow" underneath his breath. Julie touched the tip of her saber to his neck proclaiming the kill point. Nic nodded his agreement, but was still distracted by something.

Frowning she followed his line of sight and paused, her brown eyes widening slightly. Corran and Lainey were speeding around the floor in what looked like a complicated , choreographed dance, slashing and parrying blows faster than was humanly possible. Corran would jut his leg or hip out in intervals when Lainey got to close to him, trying to trip or throw her over him. Lainey would dance back just in time, crouching down to slash his legs with her saber or aim higher for his waist.

Either Corran was tiring or time was running out because he began to press Lainey harder than ever, striking at her with greater force behind his blows. Finally, he succeeded in knocking her lightsaber from her hands, causing her to jump back before he could deliver the kill point. He took two steps towards her, practice saber held before him. Lainey bent her knees, gathering the Force beneath her and jumped, doing a flying somersault over his head calling her practice saber to her hand as she landed. She held her practice saber in high guard and smiled at her Master. "Nice try, Master." She winked at him. "You almost left me open."

Corran just shook his head in awe, and returned her smile. He held his saber up as high as hers and said, "Almost. In the interest of time." He glanced significantly at the wall chronometer. "And saving me the embarrassment of being beaten by my padawan." He winked at Lainey. "I say we call it a draw."

Lainey flushed, despite the fact she knew he was teasing her. "Done," she said, lowering her saber and bowing at the waist.

"Oh, and Lainey," Corran said, stepping forward to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I’m pulling you out of beginning combat."

Copyright 2002 by Luney.

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